The sun is shining bright and reflecting off the snow. The temps are in the single digits. This morning I picked up paczki for Fat Tuesday and I made eye contact with an older gentleman getting out of his car dressed in striped knee socks and sporting serious bed-head that happily greeted me with a “Happy Paczki Day!” I had a lime curd cream-filled one with raspberry glaze that will be on my mind until next year. I can’t complain about today.

If you’re having a lime curd cream-filled day like me or not, this almond poppy seed bread will make it better. Marc loves almond poppy seed things, so I wanted to make this for my valentine. I added light pink blood orange glaze to the top because blood oranges are my other valentine. Marc loved it so much that he didn’t want me to send the second loaf to work and have it be devoured by the end of the day (this is a first!). Instead I packed up a few slices for my girl, Megan and then all week I put a slice in his lunch bag.

I’m extremely happy with how this bread turned out and I think you’ll love it, too. It’s soft in the middle and has a little crunch on top from the pretty glaze. I tried to dial the sugar back in the bread and I think it’s perfectly sweet and pairs well with coffee or tea.

Almond Poppy Seed Bread with Blood Orange Glaze

Makes 2 – 9×5 loaves

Use a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil. I like to use California Olive Ranch’s everyday variety. It’s available at most grocery stores and has a nice fruity flavor. Substitute coconut milk for the regular milk if you’d like to keep this dairy-free.

Glaze

Instructions

In a large bowl, beat the three eggs with a whisk. Add sugar, olive oil, poppy seeds, lemon juice and extracts. Whisk until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add 1/3 of the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk until just combined. Add 1/3 of the milk. Alternate dry mixture and milk until it’s all combined. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Just before the bread is done whisk glaze ingredients together and set aside.

Let bread cool in its pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack. Drizzle warm loaves with the glaze and let cool completely.

Recipe from Nicole Dula at http://www.dulanotes.com/almond-poppy-seed-bread-with-blood-orange-glaze/

What perfect timing!! I’ve had a lemon poppyseed loaf on the brain all week long and was planning on baking something in the next day or two. I’ve got blood oranges in the fridge and I love anything almond flavoured so I’m guessing that I should be making this, right?!